Rasheed to Spurs? Don’t hold your breath

There seems to be a substantial amount of wind being blown these days, in cyberspace and on radio airwaves, about a possible Spurs trade for Rasheed Wallace.

The rumor probably had its genesis with this ESPN.com column, in which Marc Stein reports “rumbles” that Wallace would have interest in joining the Spurs at some time.

OK, well, that’s fine and good. The part people seem to be missing in the Wallace-induced fervor is the next paragraph Stein writes, the one that begins “Don’t see a real trade possibility here.” That’s the money paragraph. Because there isn’t a real trade possibility here.

Wallace makes nearly $14 million, and Detroit GM Joe Dumars appears intent on accepting only expiring contracts in any deal for any player. Dumars also reportedly hasn’t given up hope in joining the Amare Stoudemire sweepstakes, of which Wallace would be a required part. Put together, these factors would make it very, very difficult for the Spurs to do the math neccesary to nab Wallace.

The Spurs have only two players with expiring contracts — Jacque Vaughn ($1.2 million) and Ime Udoka ($1.08 million). That’s a long, long way off from the $14 million they’d need to clear from their payroll to make a deal for Wallace legal. As far as hurdles go, it’s the Great Wall of China.

We’re not saying it’s impossible. Just highly improbable.

With a dearth of expiring contracts — the golden chips in these salary-dump deals — the Spurs are likely facing a quiet trading season. It is well-known that they would like to add another big man, but it also well-known they probably don’t have the pieces to land anyone of consequence.

A sign-and-trade with Robert Horry could open more doors, but as of last night, Horry hadn’t heard word one from the Spurs.

So if, you’re holding your breath waiting for Wallace to don silver and black, you’re likely to be blue until July at the earliest. Wallace will be a free agent then, and if he were willing to work for substantially less than $14 million, the Spurs would surely listen.